Mb Nib Exchange - What Is Going On?

[kelvinkeh]

Hi team, on 1st March I placed an order on my 3rd 149 - a yellow gold with O3B to go with the two O3B I already own and enjoy in platinum and rose gold trim.

 

On 25th March, I got the pen in the mail, except it was fitted with OBB nib. I sent it back. Last week, on 18th August, I finally received the pen back from MB (through the AD), except its fitted with the platinum trim O3B and not the yellow gold O3B nib.

 

I have to say, I find it odd that MB can make such simple mistakes (wrong nib size and wrong trim) on what you would consider to be fairly standard procedures for the company??? I am in two minds now on what I should do - send it back again and wait months for them to hopefully send me the right nib, or just hang onto it. It wouldve been great to have the matching nib but at this point its almost too hard!

 

Argh! Rant over.

[Pravda]

That's both very unfortunate and rare to be honest. But I do know that nibs are ordered by the boutique via a software through reference numbers. Could be a boutique personnel unable to match them properly

[zaddick]

As I noted in the other, similar thread, MB service in the US seems to be quite slow and having trouble with O3B nibs. I put mine in for service and a nib swap to 03B in Feb. They told me 6 weeks, then another six weeks, then the end of Sept. due to parts shortage. The pen did come back in August, but the nib had tool marks on the shoulders that I would describe as cat whiskers. So I sent it off with no sense of how long another nib would take.

 

I would have been fine with the platinum screw up, but you should get what you want. I guess it will just be a better story when you finally get the right nib!

[Chrissy]

I find it completely unacceptable that Montblanc can't get a nib exchange right the first time.

 

If I wanted a particular nib, then it would have to keep going back until I received the right one.

[kelvinkeh]

Pravda: I should run out and buy a lottery ticket! I agree its probably ultra rare for this to happen, but no fun when its you that its happen to.

 

Zaddick: I dont think the issue is confined to the US as this is an European purchase.

 

Chrissy: You would think so wouldnt you? Its such a core service that Im really surprised they got it wrong twice. In the meantime the customer has to wait if s/he wants to get what what we actually paid for.

 

Ive contacted the AD and will await his reply. Thanks for feeling my pain!

[Tom Kellie]

-kk-:

 

That all of this would involve an OBBB nib is especially disheartening.

I'm sorry that you've experienced such a bleak example of Montblanc service.

As you already write with a red gold and a platinum OBBB you know what great writers they are.

I hope that this will all be promptly sorted out so that you might complete your set of OBBBs with a yellow gold nib.

Thank you for bringing this to our attention.

Tom K.

[pwsuba]

The nib issues need to stop, my ultrablack 146 is in "parts delay" waiting on a OM nib. I'm praying it comes back in the same perfect condition it left in.

[Tom Kellie]

The nib issues need to stop, my ultrablack 146 is in "parts delay" waiting on a OM nib. I'm praying it comes back in the same perfect condition it left in.

 

~ pwsuba:

 

What you've written resonates with me.

It's disturbing that post after post describes issues with nib exchange.

After paying for a high quality pen, why should anyone have to accept less-than-satisfactory post-purchase service?

I hope that your Ultra Black 146 will return with a beautiful OM nib and the entire pen in optimal condition.

As with other purchasers, you deserve nothing less.

Thank you for letting us know about this.

Tom K.

[Cyrille81]

My issue is different with my JFK 1917 fountain pen but I'm waiting since May for a solution. The box I received with the pen had a different number than the one of my fountain pen. So my reseller send the box back to Montblanc but still not yet received at this moment the right one. Fortunately I kept the pen so I can use it

[Chrissy]

My issue is different with my JFK 1917 fountain pen but I'm waiting since May for a solution. The box I received with the pen had a different number than the one of my fountain pen. So my reseller send the box back to Montblanc but still not yet received at this moment the right one. Fortunately I kept the pen so I can use it

 

I feel that your problem might be unsurmountable. This once happened to me when I bought a WE FP and the store had made a mess of supplying boxes with pens they had sold. All they had left was a BP box, and the FP would not fit into the slot in the BP box. I got a significant discount on the pen though.

 

Montblanc did indeed quite quickly supply a replacement WE FP box. However, it had no labels stuck on denoting the specific type of pen, nib size or serial number. It would seem that the sticky labels aren't repeatable.

[horationelson]

I have had two recent nib exchange experiences, which have been pleasantly surprising compared to some horror stories on here (maybe the fact that I am based in London/Europe?)

 

- Earlier this year (Jan/Feb 2017) I sent my 146 in via the Canary Wharf, London, boutique to have a Level 1 service (to fix a leaking feed) and nib exchange (M to OM) at the same time. The pen came back in 10 days, if not quicker. The new nib was excellent and the leak had been fixed. The only issue was that I was advised by boutique staff that I would only pay the price of the nib exchange (around £150) and they would conduct the service for free at the same time to fix the leak. When the pen was back in the store, they demanded c. £150 for the nib exchange and an extra £70 or so for the service. They then agreed to waive the c. £70.

 

- In July 2017 I purchased a Brahms Donation FP from the Harrods boutique in London (on a 10% discount weekend!). That was sent for nib exchange at the time of purchase and was back in store 3 or 4 weeks later, in perfect condition. I asked them to keep the box at the store, which they kindly did while the pen was in Hamburg. So I picked the pen up with the original box (not so important where the pen is not LE, but this particular pen does come with a tuning fork which I would want to keep).

 

So, in short, the service level for nib exchanges out of London is good, and I am disappointed to hear that this is not the same elsewhere in the world. Presumably it is all done at the same factory in Hamburg (or not?) so I don't see why the standards should differ across the globe.

[Tom Kellie]

~ With a wealth of experienced, well-informed members in the Montblanc Forum, I'll be promptly corrected with more accurate information, if what I write is flawed.

I'd been told by both local Chinese boutique staff and senior management of Montblanc China that the great majority of repairs, nib exchanges and any part replacements were performed in the Shanghai service center.

They went so far as to show me the paperwork — not in 中文/written Chinese but rather in English — required to request parts from Hamburg for work to be performed by technicians in Shanghai.

Nearly all nib exchanges are performed in the Shanghai service center by a team of Hamburg-trained technicians. They also repair basic issues with Montblanc leatherwork and timepieces.

As to writing instruments, in general, the only situations in Montblanc China wherein the entire pen is shipped to Hamburg for work are as follows:

• Nib exchanges for limited or special editions

• Substantial reconstruction of damaged pens

• All OBBB nib exchanges

• Any special request by the Montblanc China Regional Director

To ensure that the work performed by the technical staff in the Shanghai service center reflects Hamburg's standards, any pen must be triple inspected, i.e. examined and fully checked out as to functionality and loupe examination, by competent personnel prior to be returned to the boutique nearest to the client.

Accordingly, not much after service work is performed in Montblanc's Hamburg workshops for Montblanc China's clientele.

Anything about other Montblanc regions around the globe would be no more than my uninformed conjecture and hence worthless.

If any of them are organized along the lines of Montblanc China, then most nib exchanges are performed at the respective service centers in those regions, rather than in Hamburg.

Hence there's sound reason to wonder about the procedures and quality control in the Montblanc USA service center where so many of the problems seem to originate.

By all means, please stringently correct me if what I've posted is in any sense misleading or irrelevant to practices elsewhere.

Tom K.

[Dcharles]

Wish I could say I am surprised, sadly I am not... Par for the course with Montblanc.

[Chrissy]

 

~ With a wealth of experienced, well-informed members in the Montblanc Forum, I'll be promptly corrected with more accurate information, if what I write is flawed.

I'd been told by both local Chinese boutique staff and senior management of Montblanc China that the great majority of repairs, nib exchanges and any part replacements were performed in the Shanghai service center.

They went so far as to show me the paperwork — not in 中文/written Chinese but rather in English — required to request parts from Hamburg for work to be performed by technicians in Shanghai.

Nearly all nib exchanges are performed in the Shanghai service center by a team of Hamburg-trained technicians. They also repair basic issues with Montblanc leatherwork and timepieces.

As to writing instruments, in general, the only situations in Montblanc China wherein the entire pen is shipped to Hamburg for work are as follows:

• Nib exchanges for limited or special editions

• Substantial reconstruction of damaged pens

• All OBBB nib exchanges

• Any special request by the Montblanc China Regional Director

To ensure that the work performed by the technical staff in the Shanghai service center reflects Hamburg's standards, any pen must be triple inspected, i.e. examined and fully checked out as to functionality and loupe examination, by competent personnel prior to be returned to the boutique nearest to the client.

Accordingly, not much after service work is performed in Montblanc's Hamburg workshops for Montblanc China's clientele.

Anything about other Montblanc regions around the globe would be no more than my uninformed conjecture and hence worthless.

If any of them are organized along the lines of Montblanc China, then most nib exchanges are performed at the respective service centers in those regions, rather than in Hamburg.

Hence there's sound reason to wonder about the procedures and quality control in the Montblanc USA service center where so many of the problems seem to originate.

By all means, please stringently correct me if what I've posted is in any sense misleading or irrelevant to practices elsewhere.

Tom K.

 

 

That may be the case in Asia, but in Europe and North America all pens requiring nib exchanges go back to Hamburg.

[Tom Kellie]

-kk-:

 

I've discreetly shared the link to this thread, calling attention to the details shown in the three OBBB image you've posted.

The persons who saw it are in Europe and were shocked by what is shown with the yellow gold 149 OBBB.

What the gross nib mismatch you received says about the service quality in the Montblanc USA service center was “inexcusable” in their estimation.

One wrote to me asking: “Were the writing instrument technicians color blind?”

Your image disturbs me more than any I've seen in the form this year. Clearly something is very seriously wrong as far as those performing nib exchanges are concerned.

Tom K.

[Tom Kellie]

That may be the case in Asia, but in Europe and North America all pens requiring nib exchanges go back to Hamburg.

 

~ Chrissy:

 

Thank you for the clarification. I was relying on the better experienced and more informed to make corrections. You've come through for me.

My Montblanc collector friend in Osaka has verified that in Montblanc Japan, nib exchanges are handled in-house in Japan, with parts shipped from Hamburg.

A lady who resides in Singapore told me last year that she switched from a 146 F to a BB, with the nib being fitted in Singapore.

Pravda would know best, but my impression from his posts was that his nib exchanges were done by Dubai-based technicians with nibs arriving from Hamburg.

Thanks to your helpful comment, it seems that different regions handle nib exchanges in different ways.

Tom K.

[thygreyt]

Its a shame to receive such a mistake on what one would expect to be a premium product handled with care and attention.

 

To add my experience, i requested a change from a Medium nib to an OB on my Gaius... The pen went to Texas, USA to the service center. They claimed to not have the nib in stock and sent the pen to Hamburg... Its been there for the last 6 weeks. I called to ask about the status and they said they too are out of stock on the nib... And that they at the moment can provide no time estimation on when the change will be done. They asked for patience.

What am i to do but to wait..? Their poor communication is outstanding.

 

Needless to say this is the last NOS piece I buy with the intention for a nib exchange... Which is a Shame because a NOS W.E Virginia Woolf was itching to be picked up but has a fine nib.

[horationelson]

On nib exchanges, I had been told that MB do not carry nibs in stock (even for "basic" non-SE/LE pens). I was told (by a London boutique) that when a pen is sent off to Hamburg they create and cut a new nib from the raw materials entirely from scratch. I was somewhat surprised by this, but had no reason to doubt what came from the horse's mouth, so to speak.

 

But from many posters here talking about how certain nibs are not "in stock", it sounds like nibs really must be kept as stock items, and not made on demand as the boutique told me?

[zaddick]

In the US, all nib exchanges are done in Texas except LE nibs which go back to Hamburg.

[Tom Kellie]

In the US, all nib exchanges are done in Texas except LE nibs which go back to Hamburg.

 

~ zaddick:

 

Ah, that's comparable to the Montblanc China protocol.

Thank you for the clarification.

As I don't live in the United States, I'd never paid close attention to the details in posts by U.S. FPN members concerning their nib exchanges.

Yet my impression had been that they had their nibs exchanged in most cases in the Texas service center.

Perhaps what Chrissy mentioned above pertains to Montblanc's European clients.

This being the case, it's all the more disturbing that the Montblanc technicians in Texas have been performing subpar.

The image by -kk- of the platinum OBBB nib on a yellow gold 149 epitomizes carelessness and incompetence, including the quality control procedures.

Tom K.